Karl-Gerät 040
"Karl-Gerät" (040/041) (German literally "Karl-device"), also known as Mörser Karl, was a World War II German self-propelled super-heavy siege mortar (Mörser) designed and built by Rheinmetall. Its heaviest munition was a 60 cm (24 in) diameter, 2,170 kg (4,780 lb) shell, and the range for its lightest shell of 1,250 kg (2,760 lb) was just over 10 km (6.2 mi). Each gun had to be accompanied by a crane, a heavy transport trailer, and several modified tanks to carry shells. It first appeared in the anime in Girls und Panzer der Film. History Based on the assumption that the heaviest available artillery weapons were insufficient to knock out strong fortifications ( such as the French Maginot Line ), at the end of 1935 Rheinmetall started the first steps towards creating a super-heavy mortar. In March 1936 they sent the Waffenamt a report on design possibilities for such a weapon, this conceptual design being a dug-in weapon. Three methods were considered for bringing this weapon into position: * Mounted on caterpillar tracks * Mounted on rollers * Disassembled into smaller loads and carried on small tracked vehicles After the initial discussions and proposed sketches, in October 1936, Rheinmetall was contracted to design a super-heavy mortar in accordance with the specifications issued by Waffenamt. As a result of various meetings and following the specifications issued earlier, in January 1937, Rheinmetall presented a preliminary proposal to Wa Prw 4 which described the weapon as an emplaced gun, transported as individual loads of 9 tons each on seven or eight transport vehicles. It was also determined during the design development that it would take considerably longer than 6 hours to assemble the weapon in a firing position. In order to avoid assembly work at the firing position, Rheinmetall proposed that the gun be mounted on a self-propelled fully tracked chassis. This self-propelled chassis was designed to include machinery to lower the chassis onto its belly in order to provide a stable platform at the firing position. With the use of these devices, the time required to get the weapon into action was reduced to half an hour, compared to the design requirement of 6 hours. Recoil energy from firing was significantly reduced by incorporating a carriage recoil mechanism, any remaining horizontal energy was absorbed by a spade. Based on the faster time to bring the weapon into action, dropping the excavation work for a platform at the firing position, and eliminating the need for separate load-carrying vehicles, in February 1937 the Waffenamt ''allowed further design development as a self-propelled gun. In a meeting on 9 March 1938, General Becker (head of ''Wa Prw 4) reviewed the detailed proposal showing the current status of development work. The Waffenamt agreed with the basic form so that work could begin on the detailed construction drawings. Due to tactical considerations General Becker held the view that several weapons were to be employed together for engaging enemy armored emplacements. Therefore it was ordered that six additional Gerate (weapons) were to be produced along with the Versuchsgeraet (trial vehicle). The first complete Geraet 040 was demonstrated to Wa Pruef 4 at the assembly plant on 2 July 1940. On 25 February 1941, the status of the Geraet Karl production was reported as: * Nr. I completed as of November 1940 * Nr. II to be completed on 27 February * Nr. III to becompleted on 15 March * Nr. IV to be completed on 10 April * Nr. V to be completed on 15 May * Nr. VI to be completed on 1 July In accordance with orders, Nr. VII was to receive a smaller caliber weapon. Exactly when Geraet Nr. VII (Versuchs-Geraet 041) was completed is not known, it was scheduled to be completed in May 1942 and was reported as being used by the Waffenamt to create firing tables in September 1944. No additional Geraet ''were produced. In total, seven Karl-Gerät howitzers were manufactured. The first six had the nicknames "'Adam'" (later "'Baldur'"), "'Eva'" (later "'Wotan'"), "'Thor'", "'Odin'", "'Loki'", and "'Ziu'" In February 1941, discussions commenced concerning increasing the range of the weapon, and in May 1942, 54 cm (21 in) Gerät 041 barrels were ordered for the six vehicles. At a conference with Adolf Hitler in March 1943 it was stated that the first Gerät 041 would be delivered by June 1943, and the third by mid-August. Only three of the Gerät 041 barrels were actually completed for mounting on Karl-Gerät Nr. I, IV and V, although any vehicle could be converted to use the smaller weapon. Twenty-two Panzer IV Ausf. D, E and F chassis were modified with a superstructure capable of carrying four shells that replaced the turret and outfitted with a crane as Munitionsschlepper für Karl-Gerät ammunition transporters/loaders. Two or three of these Munitionsschlepper were assigned to each weapon. In Girls und Panzer der Film '''Regulations' The Japan Sensha-Dou Federation (JSF) director made an exception so heavy tanks and self-propelled guns such as the Karl Gerät could be introduced in official Sensha-Dou matches and more specific in the upcoming annihilation match that would determine the fate of Ooarai Girls High School, giving them less advantage than they already had. Saunders Girls High School has made a request in the past to obtain a tank in the standards of Karl, although they don't directly mention the name of any weapon, calling it "that", the JSF is yet to give an answer to whether or not they approve the acquisition of the equipment. This shows how much purchasing power they have. The Karl was heavily modified to comply with the strict safety rules of Sensha-Dō, as Karl's loading and firing mechanisms on the external area of the tank can be seen moving, but there isn't anyone actually operating them, another advantage of the heavy automazation is the considerable reduction in the number of crew needed to operate the Karl. Furthermore 2 compartments with direct vision slots for its 2 operators were added and can be seen on the fenders at the rear of the vehicle when it is turning to face its attackers. Annihilation match Selection University vs Ooarai Compound Team The Karl is used by Selection University during their fight against Ooarai. It was used during the early stages of the match before being defeated by the Acorn Platoon. Selection University sited it in the middle of a dense forest away from the main battle zone, guarded by a platoon of three M26 Pershings. It started attacking right after Ooarai tanks were sighted, through it's attacks, Ooarai suffered major losses and disruption of forces, primarily in Team Sunflower as they were on the high ground. The Karl destroyed both Panthers from Kuromorimine, and one Pravda T-34/85. The Karl then continued bombarding Team Dandelion, but despite many near-misses, it scored no other successful hits. After identifying the threat the commanding officer, Miho, sent a special force, code-named Acorn Platoon, to neutralize the enemy artillery. It was composed of the Type 89B, the Hetzer, the CV-33 and the BT-42. When they found the enemy, they planned their attack, which consisted of a two-pronged surprise attack to distract the Karl's escorts, then use the opening to take out the Karl. Whilst the BT-42 lured the Pershings into a wild chase away from the Karl, the Type 89B, Hetzer and CV-33 attacked the super-heavy mortar. The Karl fired at them from close range, but missed, instead hitting a bridge segment behind them at the just as one of its allied Pershings, still pursuing the BT-42, passed underneath and was crushed by the falling debris. The Type 89B, Hetzer and CV-33 were responsible for neutralising the Karl, using the method of catapulting the CV-33 off the rear of the Type 89B, allowing the tankette to aim into the Karl's gun barrel from above. Although they succeeded on throwing the CV-33, the CV-33 failed to destroy the Karl with its low-caliber machine gun. The CV-33 landed upside down, at the mercy of the Karl, but the Hetzer crew convinced them to spin their treads at full speed so they could use it as a catapult, it worked and they managed to fire into the Karl's barrel, evidently detonating the shell that was being loaded inside. Both the Karl and its escorts were destroyed in the engagement, along with the loss of the BT-42. Trivia * This is the only Self-Propelled Artillery used in the Girls und Panzer. * Karl has the largest caliber gun in the series - At 600mm, this caliber even surpassing a battleship naval gun. * When Kurumorimine's Panthers get hit, it is possible to see Karl's falling shell. * Karl uses HE (High Explosive) shells during the annihilation match. * The surviving Karl is now on display at Kubinka Tank Museum. * Seeing as Saunders Girls High School is an American themed school, and that their own application for acquiring 'that' is yet to be approved, they are probably seeking to acquire an American howitzer motor carriage. Gallery Power of Karl.jpg|Karl's might vlcsnap-00145.png|Panthers got hit by 600mm shell vlcsnap-00167.png|Karl firing its gun Karl firing.jpg|Karl firing Klara falls victim.jpg|Karl claims another victim Big shell.jpg|Big ass shell Vlcsnap-00178.png|Karl's HE Shell explosion vlcsnap-00187.png|Hetzer firing at Karl's gun barrel Karl taken out.jpg|Karl taken out Karl-Gerat UAS.png|Karl modified crew compartments es:Karl-Gerät 040 Category:Tanks Category:German Tanks Category:Super Heavy Tanks Category:Selection University